Mercedes-Benz A-Class

Cars.com photo

MH: Winner The heavy use of brightwork in the grille is a little distracting, but as hatchbacks go, this one's quite stylish. Mercedes needs to find ways to increase its fleet fuel economy in the U.S., and this wouldn't be a bad way to start. JW: Winner No way in the world will a real product look like this (Part III), but it should. There's a long history of luxury automakers dabbling in small, affordable cars — and by that, I mean practical ones, not roadsters. The current A- and B-Class models are essentially econocars — cute little boogers that would be bad for a luxury brand in the U.S. market. However, something like this, under whatever name, would probably do quite well. DT: Loser Yeah, I hate to break it to everyone, but 'mericans are different. We like our trucks big and our luxury cars expensive. The BMW 1 Series didn't fly off lots, and I don't see the A-Class doing it, either, without some extreme gas mileage to back it up. Like Prius gas mileage. It's pretty, but I'd rather see the other three concepts mentioned above make it to production first. KM: Loser Like Dave said, the 1 Series, Volvo C30 and Audi A3 aren't exactly huge sellers. Mercedes stressed that the A-Class represents something totally different — from the 1 Series and A3, at any rate — but I still see little evidence that Americans will snap up entry-level luxury cars.

MH: Winner The heavy use of brightwork in the grille is a little distracting, but as hatchbacks go, this one's quite stylish. Mercedes needs to find ways to increase its fleet fuel economy in the U.S., and this wouldn't be a bad way to start. JW: Winner No way in the world will a real product look like this (Part III), but it should. There's a long history of luxury automakers dabbling in small, affordable cars — and by that, I mean practical ones, not roadsters. The current A- and B-Class models are essentially econocars — cute little boogers that would be bad for a luxury brand in the U.S. market. However, something like this, under whatever name, would probably do quite well. DT: Loser Yeah, I hate to break it to everyone, but 'mericans are different. We like our trucks big and our luxury cars expensive. The BMW 1 Series didn't fly off lots, and I don't see the A-Class doing it, either, without some extreme gas mileage to back it up. Like Prius gas mileage. It's pretty, but I'd rather see the other three concepts mentioned above make it to production first. KM: Loser Like Dave said, the 1 Series, Volvo C30 and Audi A3 aren't exactly huge sellers. Mercedes stressed that the A-Class represents something totally different — from the 1 Series and A3, at any rate — but I still see little evidence that Americans will snap up entry-level luxury cars. (Cars.com photo)

MH: Winner The heavy use of brightwork in the grille is a little distracting, but as hatchbacks go, this one's quite stylish. Mercedes needs to find ways to increase its fleet fuel economy in the U.S., and this wouldn't be a bad way to start. JW: Winner No way in the world will a real product look like this (Part III), but it should. There's a long history of luxury automakers dabbling in small, affordable cars — and by that, I mean practical ones, not roadsters. The current A- and B-Class models are essentially econocars — cute little boogers that would be bad for a luxury brand in the U.S. market. However, something like this, under whatever name, would probably do quite well. DT: Loser Yeah, I hate to break it to everyone, but 'mericans are different. We like our trucks big and our luxury cars expensive. The BMW 1 Series didn't fly off lots, and I don't see the A-Class doing it, either, without some extreme gas mileage to back it up. Like Prius gas mileage. It's pretty, but I'd rather see the other three concepts mentioned above make it to production first. KM: Loser Like Dave said, the 1 Series, Volvo C30 and Audi A3 aren't exactly huge sellers. Mercedes stressed that the A-Class represents something totally different — from the 1 Series and A3, at any rate — but I still see little evidence that Americans will snap up entry-level luxury cars.